As the title of this post suggests, we have a lot to cover, and a lot of good opportunities to spread before you. In the jargon of the monied overlords who attempt to run our lives, let’s begin with an “executive summary” for all you executive headbangers out there, and then flesh things out:

We are providing details concerning a new venture under the name Reaper Metal Productions, as well as a new collaboration between the label of the same name and both Redefining Darkness Records and Seeing Red Records, all of whom have already joined forces to release an outstanding album this year by the Russian band Cist. We are revealing the opportunity for consumers of heavy music to download the entire back catalogue of Reaper Metal (including the Cist EP) at Bandcamp for free, or any price you name — for the next week only. We’re presenting an interview of drummer extraordinaire Dirk Verbeuren that includes a contest for a special give-away. And we’re including some teasers about forthcoming releases by this new collaborative venture, including a trailer for the debut EP by the Danish motorpunk rockers Wölfblood, which is also now being offered as a name-your-price download.

And now, to elaborate…

Those who are already familiar with the name Reaper Metal will know it as an underground record label owned and operated by Crucified Mortals frontman Reaper, who is also one of the brothers behind Hells Headbangers. Reaper has also been the driving force behind videos under the name Heavy Metal Relics and live-streamed podcasts under the name Hellcast. All of those activities will be folded into the new Reaper Metal Productions. And it is in the context of future record releases that the Redefining Darkness and Seeing Red labels will join in.

This new collaboration has already released one outstanding record this year, the new EP by the Russian death/thrash band Cist — and if you haven’t heard that yet, why don’t you let The Frozen Casket rampage though your skull while you continue to read?

More releases are in the works — and the next one is the five-track, debut EP, Nightriders by Denmark’s Wölfblood, whose combination of punk, speed, and metal is recommended for fans of Midnight, Speedwolf, and Bat. The EP was previously self-released, but is now being given the exposure it deserves by this new label triumvirate. To get a taste of the EP, pause that Cist EP for 34 seconds and listen to this:

Nightriders is available for download now, and for pre-order on CD and cassette tape, with a release date of July 27th. You can place orders of the EP here (where you’ll also be able to stream the EP in full):

And that brings us to something else designed to welcome heavy metal fans to the news we’re helping announce today: The new Wölfblood EP, along with every previous Reaper Metal Productions release, including the Cist EP, as well as a compilation of all the Hellcast Metal Podcasts, are also being offered as “name your own price” downloads at Bandcamp for one week, beginning today. This includes a catalogue of 16 releases in total, along with the podcasts, and everything is listed below:

As noted, more releases are in the works beyond the Wölfblood EP, including a special reissue (with bonus material) of Faithxtractor’s debut album, and the next Hellripper EP (which is the one this writer has become most excited about).

But we still haven’t exhausted what Reaper Metal Productions is doing to spotlight the new venture. The next is an opportunity to obtain selected items from the personal collection of drummer Dirk Verbeuren of Megadeth (ex-Scarve, Soilwork, Aborted, etc., etc., etc.) — and how to get that chance is explained in the following brief videotaped interview of Mr. Verbeuren:

And finally, we’re at the end! We leave you with these words from Reaper:

“Reaper Metal Productions focuses on being a metal fan and the metal subculture. No flashy sales text or flavor of the month artists with paid promotion of mundane interviews, lyrics videos, or tabloids with a cram it down your throat objective. If I am not shooting Heavy Metal Relics videos or live streaming the next Hellcast episode I am playing music w/ Crucified Mortals, mixing/mastering albums or simply reorganizing my record collection. In the process maybe you learn about a new release you like, get to complain about a record that sucks or just make it through your workday drowning out nauseating FM Radio or sports talk from your colleagues. Videos, Audio Episodes, texts and free album streams are all available with RMP so there is something for everyone.”